Sunday, December 7, 2008

Making Vegan Living Easier

One of the hardest things about going vegan for me was changing the way I cooked. I've always been health conscious but when I went vegan I went into overdrive reading labels. And alot of the products I was using were not vegan friendly. And so I had to learn how to cook again (this from a girl who as a teenage told her parents she wasn't going to need to learn how to cook, instead I was going to have a great job and hire a cook. I sincerely hope my girls didn't inherit my smart mouth). But I digress...back to the learning how to cook again thing, I found it somewhat daunting. I felt out of my comfort zone. I had a sick toddler and a newborn and I totally felt like a fish out of water. But I was committed to going vegan and I was determined to stay on the wagon. So I bought some cookbooks and started learning new recipes. But sometimes you need some help in the kitchen. And help I did find at my local grocery store.

Renee's Gourmet Dressing and Sauces. Thank you Renee for making my life much easier. Sure I like to make my own salad dressings and even stir fry sauces but sometimes the kids are grumpy, or my husband is working late, or I'm not feeling well and I need to save some time in the kitchen.Enter Renee's products. Several of Renee's vinaigrettes are vegan. And they're not full of preservatives and crap. They are always refrigerated (I always wondered about those Kraft dressing in aisle 15), are labeled vegan and they taste amazing. The Asian Sesame is better than any Asian dressing I have ever made. The Pear and Guava Vinaigrette is awesome on a spinach salad with almonds, strawberries and pears. The Balsamic vinaigrette is great to have on hand when time is tight and I can't make my own. My current favourite is the Sundried Tomatoe and Black Olive...simply terrific on a tossed salad.

If you haven't tried these dressing go to the store ASAP and pick one up. I promise you won't be disappointed.